Embers of Passion
by Manika-on-a-whim
Summary: Just random SasuSaku tales. Some fluffy, some angsty while some others full of unadulterated passion. (These will include my random SasuSaku one-shots, contest entries and stuff). *Warning! Some stories may include mature content.
1. Of Passion and Redemption

_**A/N: This is a oneshot that I wrote for the SasuSaku Smut Week 2016.**_

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 **Title : Of Passion and Redemption**

 **Day : 1**

 **Theme : Fluff/Novelty**

 **Summary : Sasuke has finally been released from the prison. But before departing for journey of redemption, he is healed by Sakura. Old feelings rekindle...What will Sasuke do? **

**Rating : Slightly M**

 **Word Count : 3374**

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The life of Sasuke Uchiha has become something so plain that it can be easily described in a few words. He wakes up all shivering and sweating because of his nightmares but is unfortunately unable to wipe it off because of being restrained. Every morning, his bindings are removed and he is allowed to do his job inside a small toilet (ofcourse under the presence of an anbu standing guard right outside to give him some privacy), he is fed some bread by an unknown guy to keep him alive (on a few occasions, he is lucky enough to get milk as well), heavily interrogated by the Torture Department's most famed Ibiki Morino, thrown back into his cell and then forced to hear all those snide remarks about him being an asshole and deserving such treatment until sleep finally blesses his conflicted form. And during the performance of all of these tasks, the seal from his eyes is kept firmly in place. No, not even once is he allowed to use his eye-sight because of the possible danger of him putting everyone under a genjutsu and escaping the prison. And so, that is what has become of the life of great Sasuke Uchiha. Nothing interesting…

But for some reason, today felt different…

For example, instead of being awoken by a kick in his stomach, his cell was unlocked and shuffling of feet could be heard. Two , his strong shinobi sense guessed the number of people who had just entered the small cell. "Sasuke", a familiar voice called him out and he immediately recognised one of the two men to be his former sensei, tilting his head up in the direction of the voice in a hopeful manner. He presumed the other one to be the head of the Torture Department since no one is allowed access to his cell except for this scary, bald-guy.

Surprisingly, his assumptions turned out to be right when the seal on his head was removed and his eyes were allowed to have some fresh air. Blinking the eyelids a few times to adjust his eyes into the darkness of the cell, he stood up and instantly, a guard was called in by the huge-scarred man next to his teacher. Another guy entered and began removing all of the restraints that had been placed upon his body. He flexed and stretched his muscles to ease some of the tension that had been settling there since six months and then looked impassively at the men, patiently waiting for what was to come.

In his case though, he had already suspected that after returning to the leaf village with Naruto, he'll be locked-up inside a prison and severely tortured for information. Finally, when they'll find no use for him, they'll take him out and publically execute him for his crimes. And by the looks of it, the time for his death…has arrived. He gulped involuntarily at the thought of never seeing light again. To his utter shock, a few supplies were shoved into his only remaining hand and he was pushed inside a big washroom, under the orders to come out only after properly washing-up.

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.

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As soon as he came out of the bath, two anbu guards accompanied him towards the Hokage Tower through a very remote path so as to attract the least bit of the public attention. On his arrival, they pushed him inside the Hokage's Room and he came face to face with his long time rival once again. The blond grinned cheerfully, revealing his fox-like canines and then turned away from him to face the person at the desk. Sasuke found himself shocked all over again when he saw his former teacher sitting right behind that desk, atop the Hokage's seat wearing that heavy red cap on his head. And even though it wasn't visible to him, he knew that his teacher as well gave him a smile, which he guessed by the crinkling in his eyes. He noticed that both of his teacher's eyes were on display for the world as he had already lost the Sharingan in his left eye during the war. Next to him stood Shikamaru, hands snug inside his pants' pockets, smoking a cigarette. The pineapple-headed boy pulled out the offending drug from his mouth and he too offered a small smile to the young Uchiha. Alright…Why exactly is everyone smiling at him?! It's starting to get on his nerves. He has barely been out for some thirty minutes and people have begun smiling at him. Have they completely forgotten about his wrongdoings?

"Sasuke Uchiha, I, Kakashi Hatake, the honourable sixth Hokage of Konohagakure-no-sato, am offering you freedom from your penalties in exchange for peace. Do you agree to this condition?" Kakashi asked in an authoritative tone.

The first thing that registered in his brain was the fact that his former sensei who is a closet pervert and a student of the fourth, has become the sixth Hokage of Konoha. And then came the second part of his speech. His teacher stated that he is willing to free him from that dingy prison simply in exchange for the promise of peace from him. Again, why?! Everything that he has done up till now shouldn't allow him this freedom. Even his aid during the war isn't enough to compensate for his deeds. Hell! Nothing he does will ever be enough…So then…why?

"Come on, Sasuke. You're being offered a chance here. You must man-up and accept this." The lazy, Nara genius drawled-out, all the while thinking about an adamant kunoichi from sand.

And then, even the idiotic blond turned around to grin at him again. The Hero of the Leaf placed his remaining left hand's palm on Sasuke's shoulder and spoke, "Come on, Sasuke. I know you can do this. Remember? I believe in you..We all do…"

Suddenly, flashbacks of his last battle with his ex-teammate began playing in his head and slowly, he lowered his gaze to look down the shoulder where the blond's right arm would've been, only to find a slowly fluttering, empty, orange sleeve.

What if I turn on your back again? He recalled himself asking at the valley of the end after their battle.

Then I'll beat you up again…But that won't happen.. His friend had assured, mustering all the honesty required in order to convince him to return.

It still pains Sasuke to believe that Naruto lost a complete limb just for the sake of dragging him back on the right path. How far would he have gone if even that wouldn't have worked? How long would've team 7 kept trying? He began glaring at the three men inside the room. How can they allow themselves to trust him in just six months?! Six freaking months! How can they? How can they begin trusting him so easily? How? He wanted to kick their asses for being so..so considerate in their treatment towards him. They shouldn't have done any of it, wasting so much of the important time of their lives on him when they could've actually utilised it doing far more productive activities.

He felt this urge to tell them to just leave him be and move on with their lives. Yes! He doesn't want anyone to spare their time on someone as pathetic as him. They all deserve better. And yet..another part of him— a very tiny, weak part within him, that was extremely scared of losing even these few precious people in his life, wanted them to stay…This little part wanted them to stay the way they are and keep on being here for him regardless of the way he is…

Taking in a deep breath and then slowly releasing it, he decided to trust this little part inside of him and uttered his usual mono-syllabled response, "Aa"

"Well, since I've known you for so long, I'll take that as a Yes." Kakashi said in a chirpy tone.

"Alright!" Sasuke felt Naruto pat his shoulder with joy and he even heard the almost inaudible snort from Shikamaru. Well, atleast three people are happy to see him back. He is wondering how the others will take this news. Will they accept his presence or will they despise him for the monster that he used to be?

"Okay Shikamaru, summon Sai." Kakashi ordered.

Shikamaru nodded once and immediately exited the room to find the aforementioned ex-root nin. Sasuke looked around the room to adjust his eyes more to the brightness of his surroundings. The small scared part within him felt satisfied after hearing the Hokage's deal. He is happy and sad at the same time. There is no doubt that he wants to live and be granted a chance at life but he is also feeling guilty for his past actions that will forever plague his dreams and turn them into nightmares. He is bittersweet. Yes! A mix of happiness and sorrow is what he is experiencing at this very moment. He has already apologised to everyone for his deeds and so, he can just return back to his usual life in this village he used to call his home but what about the others? What about all those people from different countries whom he had hurt in the process of gaining his revenge? How can he make them forgive him? Gaining their forgiveness won't be as easy as his own former comrades'. No..he cannot just accept this freedom so easily. There are certain things that need to be done…certain things that he must do..before actually becoming a leaf shinobi again. And he knows exactly what those things are…

.

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Sai entered the room after Shikamaru and closed the door behind him. As soon as he was informed about Sasuke Uchiha's presence at the Hokage Tower, he left his latest painting on his desk and joined the young Nara genius to head towards the tower. Now, looking at the stoic expression on the face of the sole survivor of the Uchiha clan and his friend Naruto's huge grin, Sai assessed that something good must have happened here. He has been learning more elaborately about the facial expressions and human behaviour with the help of one Ino Yamanaka. And he has to admit that she teaches far better than any of those huge and heavy books.

"You called, Hokage-sama?" He asked in a professional tone.

"Sai!" Naruto immediately yelled at the fourth member of team 7, "How many times have I told you that it's Kakashi-sensei?! Call him Kakashi-sensei!"

"Okay Naruto. I think he knows this already. But unlike you, atleast he is trying to be respectful towards me." Kakashi stated.

"Anyways, Sai I called you here because, as you might have already guessed it, Sasuke has agreed to my terms." Kakashi informed and waited for Sai to nod his head, "So, for starters, I'd like you to take him to the Hospital and get him healed by the best medic in our village."

"As you say, Hokage-sama." Sai bowed before him.

"It's Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto yelled again.

The newly-elected sixth Hokage huffed in irritation and pulled-out a small orange-covered book from one of the drawers. He narrowed his eyes slightly to look intimidating and spoke, "Shikamaru take Naruto to the Academy. It's time for his special training."

"No! Hey! Wait! Not those damned books again…" Naruto whined all the while as Shikamaru dragged him out of the room.

Sasuke smirked at the childish nature of his old rival and shook his head. Some things really never change. His former sensei finally released a sigh of relief and gestured Sai to leave as well.

"Alright, lets go Traitor." He said, as he walked out of the room.

"Traitor?" Sasuke gritted out the first proper word since his release.

"Yes! Naruto-kun has asked me to give nicknames to all of my friends. So this one's for you." He answered innocently to the last Uchiha's questioning glare.

"Hn. Whatever. Let's just get done with this healing thing." He muttered firmly. Afterall, he has things that he needs to discuss about with the Hokage before actually putting forth his first request as a reinstated Konoha Shinobi.

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The moment Sai left Sasuke on the stretcher of that Hospital Room, Sasuke realised that he is a much bigger idiot than Naruto could ever be. He should've paid attention to Kakashi's words a few minutes ago but no..he was too busy devising plans about his future in this village..in the shinobi world. And so, he found himself stupidly dumb when a very familiar pink-haired kunoichi entered the same room to conduct the necessary examinations on her patient and heal the required wounds. …get him healed by the best medic in our village. Kakashi's words began resonating in his head. How can he forget?! The only ninja to have ever surpassed the slug-princess in the field of medical ninjutsu is none other than Sakura Haruno, his former teammate.

It is a fact that he had apologised to her at the valley of the end whilst she was busy healing him and Naruto but that is something he did because..because he felt his old emotions returning. He remembered all of the times that she had tried to save him only to be pushed aside. He felt regretful for ever trying to harm her innocent skin. But he can't change the past and that is exactly why he apologised. On his return to the village, he was sure about his death sentence and so, he atleast wanted to die after apologising to her for his actions. And she, instead of giving him the cold-shoulder or even trying to play hard, accepted his apology…She forgave him without any complaints or demands. It was the last time that he saw her before being dragged to the prison. And now today, after six complete months, he is feeling awkward in her presence as she is busy examining his shirtless, chiselled-abdomen for any critical wounds.

After patching-up the last gash on his chest, she walked over to the bedside table and picked up the notepad from where she had left it. She began scribbling down all that medical stuff on the white parchment and then having being done with that task as well, turned around to face him. A smile curved upon her lips as she began speaking, "Do you feel alright now?"

He found himself unable to respond as he felt his throat going drying. "I mean..I examined you and found four partially healed ribs, a very deep wound between your shoulder blades, which I think had been poorly stitched and a few minor knicks and gashes on your chest and abdomen. And this is not all; the results of your X-ray examination showed cracks in the bones of your fingers and arms. But don't worry..I healed everything. I healed you…"

He still didn't respond to her analysis. How could he, when his eyes were too busy watching the movements of her soft, pink lips. He gulped slowly as he watched her looking at that notepad and X-ray result all over again.

"You were tortured…" She whispered her guess, with hints of worry in her tone.

When he made no comments whatsoever about his condition, she tilted her head to lock her emeralds with his onyxes. The whole room went silent as the two of them assessed the other.

"Sasuke-kun?" she asked, attaching that familiar word of endearment to his name and that was it. That did it for him. He stood up from the stretcher and pulled her by the waist towards himself to capture her lips with his own.

Neither of them felt surprised by his sudden act. It was as if they had anticipated something like this a long ago— them engaging their lips in a gentle touch. The kiss shared between them wasn't one of those hot ones you read about in a teen fiction. It was a sloppy one in the beginning which turned into an enticing one. It wasn't perfect but a good try for a first kiss. And when he pulled back to look at her closed eyelids, he couldn't help himself from planting a kiss at her jaw as he hesitantly started unzipping her red-vest to trail his lips down towards her porcelain neck. She, on the other hand, roved her palms around his chest experimentally to see if it would provide any pleasure to him or not. When he gasped at the sudden contact of her surprisingly soothing palms, she smiled slightly and glided her arms around his torso to encircle him in a warm, welcoming hug.

He began feeling much more confident in his acts then and continued nipping the skin of her collarbones. The moment was very chaste, like two teenagers experimenting with their feelings around one another. All the pent-up emotions were being unleashed in those soft, lingering exchange of touches. But the moment he lowered his head further downwards towards the more intimate region of her chest, she shivered, breaking the trance that he had fallen into. Immediately, he pulled away from her form and his eyes widened for a fraction of a second before narrowing into angry slits.

Her arms were still around his back but she wasn't there. She was staring down at her feet, lost in thought, her lovely pink locks shadowing her expression. He sighed, passing his only hand through his raven hair and sneaked a shy glance at her. He found that she was just as confused as he was and so he did what was necessary to be done- he slowly removed her small arms from around himself and turned away to face the window instead of her inviting, pouty lips. What was Kakashi even thinking, sending him to be healed by no other medic but her?! He should've known…but unfortunately he doesn't…He is still unsure about his actions, about his own body's reactions towards her..He knows that even after everything that has transpired between them, she loves him and she always will..But what about him? He doesn't even know why he kissed her? He is not sure if he is trying to reciprocate her feelings or if he was just giving into his desires as a man.

He needs more time. There are so many things that he has to do. He needs to sort out his feelings about his comrades. He needs to understand in depth about how he actually feels about her..about Naruto and Kakashi, about everything. He needs to see this world with a new light and he also wants to atone for his past sins. So, he must stay as far from her as possible. For now, atleast…

With his mind made-up, he spoke, "I…I need to leave."

He wasn't even facing her and yet he could feel the saddening of her gaze. But he can't help it. He can't simply accept her love and take advantage of it for his own manly desires. He must find out if what he feels for her is the right thing or not before trying to get into something serious with her. He doesn't want to taint her being by his darkness..by..by taking away her innocence. He must confront his inner demons..and he must do it on his own.

"Yeah..I have-I have already healed you. I have done my job. You must go." She agreed.

"No", he shook his head, "I mean..I…I need to leave this village for a while..to atone for my sins..and to understand everything..", he then turned to look back at her, "to understand this." He explained, gesturing between them.

"I-I-I see…I'll wait..for your return..for you…" She whispered with a strong conviction, still not meeting his gaze.

He smirked at her words. No matter what happens, she won't change. She'll keep waiting for him even if it takes forever. Picking up his shirt and pulling it back on, he inched closer to her and placed another kiss upon her plump lips. This one felt way better than the first one as he pressed harder into her. They stayed in that position for a while before he reluctantly released her lips and tapped his forehead with her's. She fluttered her eyes closed and smiled.

The smile stayed on her lips even after he pulled away and twisted the knob of the door to make his exit. He stopped in the doorway before leaving. She saw how he clenched his fist and felt the quivering of his tone as he murmured loud enough for her to hear, "I'll see you when I'm back."

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 _ **A/N: So this is it. When I saw that prison thing in the episode 479, I wanted to use it for the story.**_

 **Review and Share!**

 **Until Next Time...**

 **~Manika**


	2. She is the Spring

_**A/N: This is a promotional fic that I wrote for the SasuSaku Festival which will be taking place on tumblr from February 14-28, 2017. If you would like to join, then just head over to sasusakufestival on tumblr and read the Guidelines and save their Prompt List that is required for the daily entries. That's all :D**_

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 **Title : She is the Spring**

 **Summary : Sasuke is all locked-up in the prison with nothing but torture to accompany him. But on the festival of Hanami (Flower Watching), someone decides to pay a visit to him...**

 **Rating : T**

 **Word Count : 2488**

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As the faint rays of sunlight peeked-in through the small iron-barred window of his cell and fell upon his blindfolded eyes, Sasuke Uchiha shuddered in realisation of the fact that yet another torturous morning has arrived. Another morning where they'll drag him out towards one of those interrogation rooms and throw him on the stool; Ibiki Morino sitting directly opposite him. Then they'll start-off with the usual questions and as always he'll remain tongue-tied because truth be told, he really has nothing to inform them. Nothing at all…So when their talking won't work, they'll begin removing the numerous bindings and the straightjacket from his form to start with the real stuff. They'll pull out all types of knives and needles and pliers and whatnot!

He shuddered again and instinctively huddled closer to himself in one corner of the cell. The sensation of his fingers being broken and then mended in an iterative manner was still fresh in his mind. This is the worst part of all these sessions— they break his bones and burn his skin and then don't even heal him completely. And this partial treatment of his wounds is what keeps him awake for most part of the night, the other part being his sleep full of nightmares.

He sighed again and waited anxiously for another one of those nasty guards to fetch him for the day. To his surprise, an hour elapsed without anyone entering his cell. Then another hour passed…and another..and another..and then, all of a sudden he heard the echoing of footsteps descending down the stairs that led to the dungeon and finally stopped before his cell. He felt as if he were being watched but no one actually spoke.

"Get him already." One of the anbu guarding his cell spoke up.

The man that he felt was watching him, responded, "No..not today. I just came to inform you that we are celebrating today so you guys must also join us for the evening."

"Who'll guard this little monster?" Another of the anbu guards asked jokingly.

"Ah..well..Lord Hokage is looking for someone who'll willingly waste their time watching over him instead of enjoying the festival." The unknown man informed.

"I see. Then..we'll leave here and join you as soon as that person arrives." The first guard assured.

"Farewell then." The man left.

Left…  
Without any words about him being required to be sent to the torture department's room or anything like that and Sasuke let out a breath in relief. He knows that today is some kind of celebration day in Konoha as he had heard cheerful banter of children and excited conversations between some elders through that small window in his cell. He didn't really care much but still, a small part of him felt irritated at being left out of all of this even though he has returned peacefully and with no ulterior motives of revenge. He must not be locked-up inside some stingy, dark, underground prison. He should be allowed to reclaim the Uchiha compounds as their sole-surviving owner and even be given freedom to rejoice with Team 7. How much do they want him to suffer before finally granting him pardon? He was just an adolescent driven by revenge...

He sighed again and tried to get some sleep…

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"I said..it's an order from the Hokage!"

Those were the first comprehensible words that reached his ears when he woke-up. Instantly he shot-up from his supine position to listen more clearly.

"Heh! And what?! The Hokage sent you?!" The guard guffawed.

The other one added, "Yeah..like..I don't want to be rude but..out of all those sycophants in this village, Hokage chose you?!"

"Ofcourse he didn't choose me! I wanted to come and so, I did!" ,stated the third person, voice sounding feminine and known.

Sasuke tried to run the gears in his brain to recall this weirdly, well-acquainted presence but nothing showed-up in his mind's eyes. It was when he felt that female walking past the guards towards his cell that a soothing sort of chakra tingled his senses. Instinctively, he took in a deep inhale of the air and a very faint but alluring scent of jonquil engulfed his nostrils. He sighed in relaxation because only one person is blessed with this soothing chakra signature and the scent of love and desire— Sakura Haruno.

"What's with that heavy bag?" One of the two guards asked her.

"Just go and see the Hokage and don't forget to inform him that everything is well…under control." She commanded and swiftly unlocked the gate of his cell.

He felt her trailing towards his hunched form. The scent of jonquil became stronger because of the proximity of their faces and she placed one of her dainty palms on his stubbled jaw. He gulped to calm his senses, waiting for her to proceed.

"Sasuke-kun.." she called softly in her innocent tone, "Would you mind getting-up?"

To everyone's shock, he nodded like an obedient child and staggered into a standing position, her hand never leaving his face. She smiled at the docile action and with that same palm, began removing the blindfold over his eyes, releasing the binding jutsu using her other free hand. Not even allowing him to open them, she placed her palm on his closed eyelids and passed a surge of green healing chakra through the intricate ocular network of his eyes. Having done that job, she removed her palm and it was in that moment that he fluttered his eyes open, blinking them to adjust to the darkness of the room. She was the first thing that came in his line of sight and he couldn't help himself but stare.

"Sakura" he greeted politely, reminiscing everything that he had done to her in the past.

"Sasuke-kun" she returned the greeting.

Surprising him, she smiled cheerfully, her irises flickering with joy and she moved her hands to undo the zipper of the straitjacket, followed by freeing him off the jutsu restraints. He stretched and flexed his limbs to ease some tension and lowered down a bit of the zipper of his high collared shirt to allow some air to his scarring chest. She gasped at the sight and immediately unzipped the shirt completely to have a better view of his injuries. Several cuts, lacerations and burns were covering his chiselled torso. Placing a hand shakily on his chest, she waited to see his reactions but none came. Sasuke on the contrary, merely shrugged and waited for her to do whatever the hell she was asking permission for. He knows that she's surprised by his reaction (or lack thereof) but it's not his fault that he has grown so used to pain that he doesn't even feel it anymore.

From the distance a guard spoke, "Fine Haruno-san. We'll be leaving but don't get carried away by your emotions. There are other guards still watching from hidden spots."

"Yeah!" The other one said, "And be careful. We don't want him killing you and escaping."

"I won't."

It was Sasuke who responded to the guard's mocking statement in his husky-tone that was laced in threats of murdering them. He has already committed the sin of trying to take her life more than once and he doesn't want to hear or do anymore of that. The guard immediately shut his mouth and began walking out to the stairs.

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.

After getting properly healed by his ex-teammate, Sasuke was made to sit down right next to her on the hard floor of his cell. Sakura took-off the heavy handbag slinging onto one of her shoulders and smiled again.

"It's hanami, Sasuke-kun!" She said excitedly.

Realisation dawned upon him at that and things began clicking in his head. So all this hustle and bustle that he has been hearing about through his small window was for nothing but the Hanami Festival? For flower-gazing? But..then too, Sakura has chosen to stay with him for this celebration, leaving the much better option of the company of her friends and family?

"Why?" He asked quietly and she understood without him having to explain.

"Well..Kakashi-sensei asked if I would like to join you and..I did?" She replied sheepishly.

"No Sakura." He shook his head in disapproval, "You have better people to see."

"I'd rather stay here with you than join a group of people who don't pay much heed to the fact that you saved their lives." She hissed in her defense.

It's true that nobody really gives a fuck that he, along with team 7 and Obito, are the ones who saved the whole shinobi world. But it doesn't really bother him. What is seriously confusing, is her loyalty towards him. Even after everything that he has done, she is ready to forgive and forget. She still confides in him the way she used to when she was just twelve. He smirked at those nostalgic days and looked back at her with gratitude. She smiled and then, looked around the prison. She knows that there are still several guards watching their activities from the shadows but she just doesn't care. Smiling sweetly at him, she did something way too unexpected. She placed a quick, lingering, chaste kiss on his lips.

It took him a moment to comprehend her act but he only turned his face away from her to hide the small tilt of his lips. The act didn't faze him much. For him, it is like the most natural thing amongst them. She on the other hand blushed furiously when a guard coughed awkwardly, having witnessed the kiss.

To cover-up for her action, she hastily pulled out a sitting-mat and a Bento from her bag. Lastly she took out some candles and began lighting them. Instead of just watching her, Sasuke helped her in arranging the candles in different corners of the room to light up the cell. After that they sat back on the mat, which Sasuke noticed was embroidered in beautiful Sakura-no-hana designs and he felt the pangs of guilt hit him. She really shouldn't be spending the Hanami with him.

What he didn't know was that Sakura was feeling equally guilty in this situation. She silently opened the bento and muttered, "I'm sorry, I didn't have enough time so I prepared only one box. Is it fine if we share?"

"Aa" He nodded and she smiled again.

He noticed the contents of the medium-sized lunchbox which consisted of a strip of onigiri arranged alternately in shades of white and pink food-colouring in the centre of the box. On the left side, there was freshly cooked salmon and miso in one corner and some carrots and ferns in the other corner. To the right there was chicken karaage and sakuradai sushi. He wondered how much time Sakura had spent in the kitchen in order to cook such a delicious meal. A part of him wanted to ask but that would be too rude and direct. So he just watched her as she pulled out two small cups and a bottle of sake.

After taking up their chop sticks, Sakura joined her hands while Sasuke, because of the lack of his left arm, simply closed his eyes when she did and they prayed.

"Itadakimasu" Both of them spoke in unison and opened their eyes, their gazes locking onto each-other for a moment.

Then Sakura moved her hand towards the salmon but as she did so, she noticed the shaking of Sasuke's palm. A chop stick fell from his grasp and he lowered his head. Worriedly, Sakura placed her own chop sticks down and began stroking Sasuke's shaking palm. He hitched at the contact and she noticed that his whole form was shaking now.

"Sasuke-kun?" She glanced up at his bangs that were silhouetting his expression and patiently awaited his response.

"It's been five years since I last celebrated this with someone.." He mumbled so quietly that Sakura is sure that she is the only one who heard.

"Mother..she used to..she used to feed me with her own hands…" He added after a short pause.

After that no one spoke a word and Sasuke began sulking even more. He felt stupid because of his past sins. Once, he had spent a Hanami with team 7 as well when they were still together and he hadn't yet committed the mistake of leaving his home village. If only he would've listened to his teammates back then…

"Sasuke-kun" His female teammate called him again and he tilted his head up only to come face-to-face with a piece of sushi being held close to his lips. He glanced at pinkette's hand holding the food item and then at her gentle smile, which appeared to be so much like his mother's. Slowly, he opened his mouth and took in the piece, munching and swallowing it.

Sakura giggled at him and asked, "Feelin better?", to which he nodded quietly.

"I can never take your mother's place, Sasuke-kun but I can surely try to fill in for her…" She mumbled.

He nodded and opened his mouth again, waiting for her to continue feeding him. She smiled at his acceptance and continued with the task, alternating between feeding him and then eating herself.

"Hurry! We need to find a good tree!" They heard a kid yelling from that small iron-barred window and Sakura huffed.

She pouted her lips and mumbled sadly, "I'm sorry we couldn't convince the council to allow you to have a proper celebration of the festival. I wanted to take you to watch a Sakura Tree as well but Homura-san and Koharu-san didn't allow me and Kakashi-sensei." She explained.

"It's fine." He assured.

"It's not! What's a Hanami without a cherry blossom? You can't say that you celebrated it without even being able to gaze at the flowers." She reasoned and glared at him.

Sighing, he passed a hand through his raven locks and gestured her to come forward. She stared curiously at his hand and he gestured again. When she finally complied and scooted her face closer to his, he poked her head with his index and middle finger. She was slightly taken aback and pouted.

"You are here." He stated as if it was the most important part of this celebration. She didn't understand the meaning behind his words and pouted even more, this time slightly puffing her cheeks as well.

He smirked and picked-up his long time abandoned chop sticks. Taking a piece of salmon, he brought it up towards her lips and waited for her to open up. She didn't even budge so he touched the salmon softly to her lips, making her sigh in defeat. Biting into the meat, she kept pouting at him, making him smirk amusedly at her antics.

Sakura will not understand this but she really is more than enough. With her baby-pink hair and contrasting emerald eyes along with the scent of jonquil, she really is like the cherry blossoms in every aspect— beautiful and ephemeral. Watching his teammate is very much like watching those delicate flowers.

The Sakura Trees may symbolise the arrival of spring but for him, so does she. She has always been there for him. She is the only light in his dark life. She is indeed the spring personified…

"Sakura," he called and then stared directly into that beryl shade of emeralds, "Thank you…"

* * *

 _ **A/N: Incase you guys don't understand, Sakura is feeling guilty because she was unable to prepare two proper sets of bentos. She only had time for one. ;)**_

 _ **OH! About the Hanami Bento, I searched about the traditional Hanami dishes on google. Hope you guys enjoyed reading it...:)**_

 **Review and Share!**

 **Until Next time...**

 **~Manika**


	3. The Last Time

**A/N: Another one of my entries for SasuSaku Smut Week ;)**

* * *

 **Title : The Last Time**

 **Day : 3**

 **Theme : Angst/One Last Time**

 **Summary : Sasuke is all set to leave for his awaited battle with Itachi. And he knows that he may not survive. Thus, before his departure, he decides to shower his love onto the only girl who has accepted him the way he is...**

 **Rating : Quite M**

 **Word Count : 2737**

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"Sssassuke-kun…sstahp..ppuh..pleassse…"

Another throaty moan escaped the luscious lips of the young girl when the man on top of her continued trailing wet kisses around her neck and shoulder. Being entranced in the lovely forest-musk of the young prodigy made it really hard for her to decline his advances. But deep down in her mind, she knew that this isn't right and she must stop..She must not give in to her temptations…Unfortunately, her attempts to force him off of her turned out to be futile as the boy didn't even budge.

If anything, the girl's resistance made his actions even more fervent and he bit down hard onto the pulse near her shoulder, making her gasp in ecstasy. Although his complete body was hurting and he was in no state to perform any strenuous activities, he didn't stop. He didn't want to…Afterall, there was a time when this is exactly what she had desired from him. So then why is she declining it now?

"Sassss…" The girl tried to make another attempt but the words died down on her pouty pink lips as they were captured into a bruising kiss by the groaning Uchiha survivor.

"Nnnnh.." She sobbed, "no..no…stop..stop..please.." In her dazed state, the girl managed to channel chakra into her palms and pushed the brooding young man away from her. He fell onto the other half of her bed, panting heavily.

As soon as he regained his composure, a scowl began developing on his face and he glared at her. Merely five minutes ago, the Uchiha had been staggering like a deadman towards the Village Hidden in the Leaves. He had even fought those two gate-guards and numerous other anbus to enter through the gates of the village. And mind you, he didn't face all of these hardships to get rejected by a very annoying, pink-haired kunoichi! Surely he had expected heart-warming embraces and skin-tingling kisses. But rejection? No. Never…Uchihas don't take no for an answer.

Grasping at the hem of her lacy, pink nightgown, he asked in a tight tone, "Why?"

She looked away from his angry expression and whispered sorrowfully, "Because.. _you_ are not real…"

The glare in his onyx irises intensified, "What?!"

"Because this is just another figment of my imagination…Because in the end..this is all just a dream…" She whispered in a broken sort of tone as a tear glided down her cheek.

The Uchiha stared at that teasing pink, lacy material as he spoke in a gruff tone, "Glad to hear that I'm still a part of your dreams", he paused midway to smirk and stated, "..but _this_ is reality."

"No!" The pinkette yelled, "No, no, no! This cannot be real. And you know why?" She laughed drily, "It's because every single night, when I go to sleep, you breach into my dreams and begin kissing my lips. And just like every other night, I push you off of me and tell you that it's all just a dream. We have this same argument in each of my dreams and then..when I close my eyes..you..you disappear…you leave…you leave me alone but only after tormenting my feelings…So just…just stop messing with my dreams, okay?! And stop being so, so…loving..when infact you only hate me!" She requested in frustration, tears now freely flowing-down her porcelain cheeks.

The brooding youngster was slightly taken aback by the sad confession of his former teammate. In the past, he had always hurt her with his rude remarks but he didn't realise that he is still doing the same even after leaving her behind on that fateful night on a cold bench. He never knew that he had been causing her distress by his sudden appearances in her dreams. And now, he has hurt her once again. But this time not only verbally but physically as well. He had stepped inside her house uninvited, entered her room without permission and just began taking advantage of her. He really _is_ a jerk!

"Sakura" he called her name in his deep, husky-tone to intimidate her, "I'm real. _This is real_."

She began shaking her head from side-to-side in discord and closed her teary-eyes. "No, Sasuke-kun, you are not real…this..this is just a dream..this is just a dream..this is just a dream…" She kept chanting to herself.

But the moment she fluttered her eyes open, she was disappointed to find out that nothing had changed at all. The Uchiha was still there, lying casually on her satin bed sheets, eyeing her with specks of concern. She tried switching between closing and opening her eyes for a while but it didnot work, for nothing changed except for the eyes of her ex-teammate. They were now blazing crimson in the dimly-lit room. And it is in this moment that realisation dawned-upon her. _This really isn't a dream._ She realised that she isn't dreaming and that every moment of _this_ is a reality that she will always find hard to believe. And with that realisation settled in her mind, her eyes began widening as she stared at the battered condition that the Young Uchiha Patriarch was in.

"Sasuke-kun! You're injured!" She gasped, "and-and you're real injured and- Oh My God!"

Immediately she scooted closer to him to remove the white bandages from his forehead. The boy quirked a brow at her sudden change in behaviour and his eyes faded back to their original shade of greyish-black.

"It's okay! I-I know you're real…just..just take-off your vest." She requested with a blush marring her facial features. She knew how inappropriate her words must be sounding to him as they had been making-out just a few moments ago but in order to heal his wounds, she will have to examine them properly. So she patiently waited for him to carry-out her request. The 17-year old young man gave her another confused-glance before finally tugging-off his black vest and the bandages wrapped around his torso.

Her eyes couldn't stop themselves from ogling at his chiselled form and she had to try really hard to focus. Finally after taking a long breath and releasing it, she began inspecting his partially-healed injuries. Having done that, she placed her small palms on the taut-flesh of his chest and started with the task of mending his wounds. It only took her some 10 minutes and when she smiled-up at him after the completion of her job, she found that he had been staring at her all throughout the time, confusion still brimming his eyes.

"In my dreams I am able to erase your presence whenever I try hard..but..but I couldn't do it this time, which means you are real…" She said, answering his unasked query.

"And..you never use your Sharingan in my dreams." She added a second later while re-checking his body for any other wounds she might've missed.

"I fought against Deidara of the Akatsuki." He didn't know why but he felt compelled to tell her.

"And then..you decided to come here?" She asked uncertainly.

Did he decide to come here? Who knows? Atleast _he_ doesn't. He is still intrigued by his own actions.

"I barely managed to survive his trump card— the C-4 bomb." He spoke, ignoring her question, "My team arrived at the right time and took me to a small hut that we had rented in that small village. They are the ones who cleaned and bandaged my wounds." He explained, his enigmatic-eyes resting upon her swollen lips.

"Oh!" She uttered with disappointment, knowing that he has deliberately ignored her question.

The entire room went quiet after that as no more words were exchanged between the two reunited teens. The pinkette was well-aware of the intent gaze of a pair of onyx eyes and also knew that her companion wouldn't be speaking anytime soon. So instead of giving him the same treatment in return, she chose to break the awkward silence developing between them, "You know, we had also headed-out with a big team in search of you. We even heard an explosion in the forests but by the time we reached the location, you were already gone. So Kakashi-sensei ordered us to return to Konoha."

She then smiled bitterly, "But now…after some 20 hours, you are here, lying right next to me on my bed, inside my house." She spoke in a brittle-tone, trying to make herself believe this fact.

Sasuke sighed at her choice of words. Even if she has accepted his presence here, a part of her still considers this to be nothing more than just another one of her wildest dreams. And he clearly knows that he is the one to blame. So for once in his life, he decided to kick his pride away and prove her wrong by yanking at her hand to pull her towards himself. With a yelp, she fell on top of him, her head resting flush against his chest. She could hear the throbbing of his heart which made her face redden yet again. Ignoring the stiffening of her muscles, he scowled and passed a hand through her short mane of pink strands.

"You know..you really are annoying." He told her.

She squeaked at the strokes of his long fingers through her hair and nodded her head, "I-I know…"

"…but..why are you here Sasuke-kun? A-And why did you k-kiss me?" A huge blush tainted her face when she asked that.

"Hn.." He responded, watching her bite her lower lip in nervousness. Her chewing action reminded him of how good those soft, plump lips had felt when they were placed against his own a few minutes ago and unconsciously, he licked his lips in a slow motion, eyes intently watching her. He didn't know if it was an impulse or plain desire for contact but he lowered his head down and once again..their lips met. He groaned at the pleasure that coursed through him because of that simple act of love and crushed her into him. His hands on the other hand, began sneaking-up her thighs and disappeared beneath that flimsy material of her gown.

"I came here to see you…because I.." He paused to catch his breath and started nibbling on her lower lip, asking for permission. The action caused her to sensually arch into him and gasp. Seizing the chance, he advanced his tongue inside her mouth, making her tangle her fingers into his raven locks. She tucked at his hair, making him release a low grunt of approval and he pressed further into her if that is even possible. This is what he sees in her…This is what no other girl but she has…This…this acceptance…She always accepts whatever he has to give without any complaints or demands…And so, he wants to retain as much of her affection as he physically can because he has fought against an actual akatsuki and barely managed to survive.

And he also knows that the next battle will be the most awaited moment of his life, the moment for which he has always prepared himself for, the moment when he crosses paths with his older brother again…

When he had killed Orochimaru and formed team Hebi to track down and defeat his brother, he had been extremely determined. But now, just after facing a single akatsuki, he is feeling all that confidence waver and those shameful thoughts of possible 'what ifs' have started clouding his mind. What if he fails? What if he meets his brother again but is unable to defeat him? What if he is the one who loses in that battle and dies? What if he is never able to return?…

"Why me?…why..why not…why not Naruto?" She asked amidst their heated kissing-session.

Whilst still stroking the milky skin of her thighs, he inched his palms further-up her petite waist in slow teasing motions, finally halting on their arrival at her ample bosom. He paused in his erotic actions to reluctantly wrench his lips away from her's and have a view of that hazy-look in her eyes. Satisfied that she was responding to his titillations, he slipped his fingers beneath the thin fabric of her bra and began massaging those perky mounds. He wants to give this to her— a token of the emotions that he has always kept bottled-up in his heart in order to focus on his revenge. He wants to please her as much as he can. He doesn't love her, not yet…But he is sure that if he curtails his hatred to some extent, he _will_ fall for her. This is exactly why he is doing this..He wants to leave his mark (an everlasting mark) on her…He wants to claim her before anyone else can…

If this had been some other day, some other time, maybe he would've thought about taking things in a slow pace. He would've asked her out on a proper date and they would've shared a few chaste kisses before finally ending-up in a bed. But sadly, there is no time for such small things in his life. He has a revenge to take care of and he knows that vengeance will be the end of him. He will undoubtedly clash against his brother. Everyone knows this. But no one knows about his fears. No one knows that as the time for this inevitable battle is approaching him, he is feeling more and more terrified. He is having second thoughts about whether he'll be able to defeat him or not. Thus, he wants to devote all of himself to her inviting form.

He bent down to lick her ear-lobe and whispered in a smoky-tone, "I came..to see you..because Naruto is not _you_ ."

However seductive it felt, she snorted at that response, "You mean..I am easy and Naruto isn't?"

Her question offended his Uchiha Pride and he pinched her nipples. She mewled at that sudden act and glared at him. "You are far more difficult than that knucklehead." He answered, "But you..you.." He sighed in exasperation and lowered his head into the valley created by her cleavage. Taking a whiff of her jonquil like scent, he felt the desire pooling into the nether region of his body. Fuck Itachi, she will be the death of him…

"…you understand.." He finished his explanation, head still resting on her soft cleave.

They remained like that for another moment, simply staring into space, wondering about all those happy endings that they can never have… And somehow, she understood what he meant. She even realised that he is scared..scared for Naruto..scared for team 7…scared for her..scared for..them..He is scared about the possible future that they can have…But she knows..that for the sake of that future he will have to leave…

Her throat tightened at the prospect of his departure and involuntarily, a sob escaped her lips. And no matter how hard she tried, her eyes betrayed her, making a tear crawl down her cheek and fall onto his midnight shade of hair. The walls that she had built around her emotions, came crashing down and she began weeping. Sasuke knew that there is no way that he'll be able to stop her now but he surely can try to lessen the heartache.

He moved his face to lick the skin of her cleave, squeezing her plump breasts at the same time. She moaned again as another tear made it's way out of her eyelid. In slow, torturous movements, he began raving his hands all over her form before finally pulling them out from underneath her gown. She whimpered at the loss of his ministrations and opened her eyes, tears still traversing down. Onyx clashed with emerald, making her moan again. He slithered his hand behind her back to reach for the zipper of her small dress and almost ripped the cloth away from her form. He smirked satisfactorily at the sight that greeted his hungry eyes. Turning on his clan's famed bloodline trait, he began storing even the tiniest of the features of her beauty— from the lusty-green, irises to the flushed-cheeks, from her extremely sensitive, perky mounds to her slender waist, from her milky-white thighs to her dainty ankles— he took in everything that he could.

She brought her hand out to place it's palm on his masculine jaw and wept even more. He himself placed his palm atop her's and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Then, with a sort of conviction that she has never seen in his bloody orbs, he lowered himself onto her lithe body and planted another kiss on her sensual lips— a very chaste, emotionally-rendering kiss.

She sobbed again, "Why…why are you doing this?"

For that brief moment, he locked his determined crimsons onto her confused emeralds and whispered with quivering lips, "Because _this_ may be the last time…"

* * *

 **A/N: Believe me, this isn't how I had intended to end the story. But this story had a mind of it's own.**

 **Oh! And before I forget, _Jonquil_ is a flower. A narcissus to be precise. It symbolizes the feelings of love and desire.**

 **Comment your views and Follow for more such tales 😉**

 **~Manika🌸**


	4. His Freedom

**A/N : It's been a while, eh? Here's my 3rd entry for SasuSaku Smut Week. Enjoy!**

 **Title : His Freedom**

 **Day : 6**

 **Theme : You're safe/I thought I lost you**

 **Summary : (You can count it as a sequel to the previous story 'The Last Time').**

 **After defeating Itachi, Sasuke passes out. He was found by Team 7 and admitted in the hospital. Now, on waking-up, he finds himself in an unfamiliar surrounding and feels uncomfortable. But soon, he discovers a familiar presence...**

 **Rating : Slightly M**

 **Word Count : 1309**

* * *

A long stretch of blinding white rays of light tried to assault his irises when he made an attempt to open his eyelids. Sadly, he was unable to open them completely because of the bandages wrapped around his eyes. He squeezed his bandaged-eyes hard to control the sudden pounding in his head. The sterile stench of anaesthesia invaded his nostrils and the faint blipping sounds of the IV and the heart-rate monitoring device reached his ears. His sensitive shinobi instincts activated and he presumed himself to be lying inside a hospital. He could also feel the surge of a few different chakra signatures surrounding him. And to be honest, he has no idea about how the hell did he end-up lying on a hospital's cot.

He doesn't remember much but as far as he can recall, he had finally managed to track-down the location of his brother and had attacked him along with his self-comprised team of four. The former mist shinobi on his team, namely Suigetsu Hozuki, had asked him to go after his brother, assuring him that they'll be able to handle his brother's partner, Kisame Hoshigaki. And so he did. He followed his brother to the sacred Uchiha grounds and they fought. Being two strong sharingan-users that they were, their fight was dominated by genjutsu. But by the end of the battle, Sasuke used his trump card— a technique named Kirin that he had developed on his own. He used it and actually managed to defeat his brother. At last, he remembers being poked on the forehead by his dying brother in that affectionate manner before finally losing his consciousness.

But his brother wasn't the only one who had lost consciousness..He too had fainted out of extreme exhaustion.

Truth be told, he hadn't expected himself to come out alive from that battle. He had actually mentally prepared himself for the worst— to die during or after the end of the battle. Yet here he is, lying comfily on the soft mattress of a hospital cot. God really is generous towards him…

Wait! God is never impartial!

This particular statement made his mind wander-off towards another thought— his brother. What happened to Itachi? Right now, it really doesn't matter that someone took the hassle of taking Sasuke to a hospital. What is actually important, is the news regarding his brother. Like where is he? Is he still alive? Did he escape? Or is he dead? And if so, then where is his corpse?

All the anxious ideologies made him shoot-up from his relaxed posture and he accidentally strained the IV on his left wrist. Shit!

A loud feminine gasp emanated from somewhere towards his left.

"Just what the hell do you think you're doing?!" Another feminine tone demanded angrily from his right.

But before he could even formulate any legit response, the IV was ripped-off his vein, making him cry-out in pain. A soothing palm was immediately placed atop the stinging skin on the back of his wrist and he felt the surge of a strangely familiar chakra go through his skin. Someone was healing his wrist, he guessed. Someone known…

"It's okay, you're safe…" It was the gasping female from before who uttered those reassuring words and he felt like he had heard this voice before.

As he tried to wrack his brain so as to put a name to this known personality, the throbbing in his head returned. Lifting his right arm, he harshly pressed his palm over his eyes to control the insufferable aching of his head. Damn!

"Don't worry. Just relax.." She spoke again, having completed healing his palm and removed her soothing touch from his skin.

"I'm gonna kill him for this!" The second, headstrong feminine voice yelled again and he flinched.

"Calm down, shishou. He's still recovering. You can punish him later." The softer one said.

"Hmph! Once he's out of here, I'll make sure he pays for leaving the village!" The grumpy woman sneered.

The screeching sound of a door being pulled open came next, shortly followed by the noisy sound of it being slammed shut. He assumed that the angry one had left the room then.

Though he could still feel the presence of that soothing persona. A cool breeze passed by his nape and his nose caught a feeble scent of Jonquil. A gentle hand began stroking his recently healed wrist, making him loosen his stiff muscles. This soft, angelic touch, this mellifluous tone, this alluring scent of love and desire— he summed-up all those features and only one name suited perfectly with his deductions— Sakura…

"Sa-Saku..Sakura…" He whispered hoarsely.

"Yes, Sasuke-kun," her melodic tone responded instantly, "I'm right here…"

He gulped involuntarily, finding it hard to believe that she was standing right here next to his broken self. Then maybe this is not real..Maybe he is just hallucinating in the last few moments of his life..Imagining about a future that he has always wished to have…Yes! This must be an illusion…

Placing each of her smooth palms on both sides of his jaws, grazing the light-stubble on his cheeks, she repeated her words, "Relax..you're safe…I'm right here…"

And he believed her then…he put all his trust into her soothing touches and reassuring words and nodded in agreement. This must be real..Because if he had died, then surely he would've received hell, not a relieving dream-like heaven. He won't be gifted by the holy grounds of heaven in his death. He has committed far too many sins to gain that. The only place where he can actually enjoy her presence is Reality. So this must all be real…

"We found you in those old Uchiha Ruins. You were nearly dead when we took you to Konoha and admitted you in this hospital. Tsunade-shishou and I have been taking care of you." She informed, gently massaging the rough, stubbled-skin of his cheeks, "You've been sleeping since three days. Thank god you're finally awake.."

She lowered her palms down to his masculine shoulders and pulled him in for a warm embrace. "When we reached the ruins, your brother..he was already..dead. So-So everyone lost hope in you as well..But I..I checked your pulse. It was very feeble but it was there…And then I healed your wounds and we took you to the hospital and-and-and..I thought I lost you…"

She pulled him even closer and placed a chaste kiss on the cursed-seal over his neck. He sighed in approval at the contact of her lips over that aching mark and moved his arms to rove them underneath her vest, gliding his palms all around the nuance of her flawless skin.

"I..killed him.." He stated in a doubtful tone.

"Yes!" She confirmed his uncertain mind, "You killed him..You killed your brother, Sasuke-kun…"

He nodded slowly and whispered like a child, "I-I'm free…"

"Yes, Sasuke-kun.." She planted another kiss on that mark, "You are now free to enjoy your life."

True. Every word of her statement is true. Now that he has successfully completed the first one of his two goals, he can finally enjoy his life and then maybe..even achieve the second goal in a few years. He has all the time to accomplish his aspirations now. He is free…

For starters..he reached over the nape of the beautiful girl in his arms and bent her by the neck, deeply inhaling that intoxicating scent of jonquil that always lingers around her untainted skin.

She gasped silently at his action. This is a hospital and they must not engage in anything so sensual in here. But since it's the first time that the man in her arms is enjoying real freedom, she will let him have this moment. And so, when he hovered his lips over her's, she let him capture them in an enticing kiss, tangling her fingers in those shining, ebony locks…

* * *

 **A/N: So this is it. Hope you enjoyed reading this...:3**

 **Until Next Time...**

 **~Manika🌸**


	5. No Substitute

**A/N: So now I'll start posting all my entries for the SasuSaku Festival. This is the first one of it. Hope you dear readers will enjoy...:3**

* * *

 **February 14**

 **Day 1: Valentine's Day**

 **Title: No Substitute**

 **Summary: Every year, during the Valentine's Day, Sasuke and Sakura try to move on. But they realise that their feelings for each-other won't ever fade.**

* * *

 _ **No matter who I choose...**_

 _ **They don't compare to you...**_

* * *

It was another one of those boring days spent amidst the piles of Patients' reports and thick medical texts in her small office room. She yawned for the umpteenth time that hour and turned her head to stare out of the window in hopes of distracting herself with something interesting happening out there on the streets. Unfortunately, her eyes fell upon a couple who looked not more than 14-year-olds. The sight was enough to make her lower her lashes and bite her bottom lip in anxiety. The surprisingly young pair reminded her of how 'not-boring' today's day _is_ as today is none other than the day famed and celebrated with enthusiasm amongst loving couples— The Valentine's Day. It is a day that people spend with the ones that they hold dear to their hearts.

Sakura passed her fingers to untangle her messy pink locks and huffed in annoyance for she has not even a single companion to spend the day. Naruto is going to be busy with his new found love interest Hinata Hyuga (finally!) whereas Ino is busy getting ready for her first date with the emotionally impaired Sai. Her parents are going out for dinner tonight and even Kakashi-sensei is going to spend the day with Kurenai-sensei and her little daughter Mirai. She sighed in irritation. If only she had someone...

Thoughts of a dark haired young man with mismatched irises crossed her mind. She pouted wearily and placed her head to rest it atop her folded arms. With her eyelids closed, she tried to picture the man she has come to love despite of the long distances separating them. A smile crept upon her soft pink lips when she imagined him wandering around the world with his squared-shoulders and aloof demeanour.

But now that she thinks about it, the distance between them has never made her feelings waver. Even when Sasuke had left the village or tried to kill her twice, she didn't feel dejected. All she felt was the insufferable pain that he was going through. His agony is what made him express his loneliness in angry rejections and hate-filled words. Ofcourse he used to lash out a lot in the past but he has changed. Ever since he has apologised to her, things between them have changed. The times that she healed him and took care of him at the hospital were their best moments spent together. He barely ever spoke but whenever he did, it was always about his family and how he regretted about spoiling the name of his parents. After a while, he left again..although this time on a journey in search of redemption. He didn't say any cliché, heart-warming words but poked her on the forehead— an expression that she doesn't know much about but is still happy. That poke actually made her blush and feel things she never knew she could and her love for him grew stronger than before...

The young teens were still walking around and Sakura took notice of their hesitant hands that were getting closer by every passing second. Their fingers finally entwined together and they blushed. The scenario was way too cute to be ignored and Sakura desperately hoped that they stay together for the rest of their moments of life. Unconsciously her palm passed over the huge bouquet of roses in her lap. She remembered how her colleague Takeru had gifted these flowers to her just an hour ago. Ino personally requested Sakura to give the guy a chance but sadly..it doesn't work that way. It's not like she is against men or something..or that she is interested in women...She has dated many guys in the past, even when she was only fifteen, merely in hopes of getting over Sasuke. And she tried her hardest to love guys that possess all the qualities of a gentleman but..it just..it just didn't work...

No matter how hard she tries, her heart is unable to replace Sasuke Uchiha. There's just no substitute for him...

* * *

As he fed his onigiri to three more cats and thought about his journey to repent for his sins, he just felt worthless. Feeding little stray cats surely won't bring any sense of justice to his soul but it will undoubtedly make him kind. A small, black kitten continued to rub Sasuke's leg in affection and he smiled gently at the tiny feline. How he hopes to return to a place he can call home...

A week has already passed since his clash with Fushin and Chino of the Chinoke clan. He successfully stopped them from accomplishing their dreadful act of revenge. Vengeance is not good..it never was...

He recalled his former, father-like, masked sensei's words, _Believe me, Sasuke...Revenge will not bring you any joy..._

 _Even if you get revenge though...it won't bring anyone happiness..Not even you..nor me..._ And the words of a young, hopelessly in love, pink-haired, bright kunoichi.

If only he would've listened to them at the right time because now, it is too late..too late...He cannot go back in time to erase the sins he committed in the past...

A woman with a basket in her hand crossed the forest and to his dismay, she noticed him sitting underneath the cherry blossom tree. A big, dreamy smile carved upon her lips and she looked at him promiscuously. This is what he hates about women. Regardless of their age difference, they keep throwing themselves at him like cheap whores. No woman can ever come to love him for all they care about, are his physical features. No one...

Silhouettes of a certain pink-haired kunoichi began clouding his mind. He recalled the emotions conveyed in those beryl shade of emeralds of that stubborn yet compassionate medical kunoichi. A small smirk played upon his lips and he stood-up to leave the place. The woman took his action as a sign of rejection and dejectedly left. Seriously, women don't interest him the slightest. The only one who has ever managed to catch his eye, is his sweet pink-haired teammate. Even after making her suffer to this extent, she forgave him and let him back into her heart.

He closed his eyes to reminisce the times he had spent rehabilitating at the hospital in her presence. Whenever she healed his wounds or muscles or simply massaged his limbs, he felt an inexplicable urge to tug her and pull her into a tight embrace. But he never did...He didn't want her to freak-out and faint. And so, he simply used to stare at her as she tried to soothe him in every possible way she could. Occasionally, he even used to sniffle at her relaxing scent which is a weird yet fragrant mix of lavender, cherries and jonquil. She really is one of a kind...

As he passed the village, he came across numerous couples strolling around the streets. Then his eyes fell upon the stalls and shops in that small village and he reached a conclusion. Today is one of the most dreaded days of his life— The Valentine's Day! Every year, during this particular day of February, he locks himself up inside his lodgings to avoid every possible contacts with the beings of his opposite sex. They provide him attention that he doesn't want.

But many people whom he came across told him that this blissful ignorance is not good for him as an Uchiha and as a man. Thus, during all those years that he was considered a rogue Shinobi, he tried to spend this particular day with different women. He tried getting along with the ladies at Orochimaru's lair, the women he came across during his years spent with team Taka and many others but none appealed to him. And although he met a variety of attractive females, he paid them no mind. Heck! He even gave a chance to the prospect of a future with Karin. But it didn't work. It never does...The idea of contact with any woman disgusts him and so, he never even thought about kissing, let alone touching one. No woman has ever intrigued him as much as the hypnotic, beryl shade of emeralds of an exotic kunoichi from Konoha.

He can't say much about his redemption but this journey surely has helped him to realise one thing— he has feelings for Sakura. To be honest, he has always had feelings for her. All those years ago when he was only 13 and leaving the village, he was already partially in love with her. Yet emotions like love could've jeopardised a lot and so he suppressed all of his emotions to focus solely on his revenge and the betterment of his clan's name. Thanks to that battle with Naruto at the Valley of the End. It has helped his perception become better... Now he can clearly see everything that he should've in the past...

When he returns to Konoha, he will make sure to keep his promise to Sakura and see her before anyone else and..he will properly express his feelings to her...

No matter how hard he tries, no woman will ever interest him but Sakura Haruno. There's just no substitute for her...

* * *

The following year, Team 7 decided to get together for one of their homely, team dinners at Kakashi's house. It was the night of the 13th of February and Sasuke had everything planned out. He has already bought a bouquet of Red roses to gift Sakura while asking her to be his girlfriend exactly when the clock strikes 12, that is the 14th of February. He also gained a lot of mental boost from his ex-mentor aka the current Hokage of Konohagakure, Kakashi Hatake. Naruto, Sai and Yamato added their own advices to his plate of ideas. Thus, he sat patiently, waiting for the right time to arrive.

.

.

When both the hour and minute hand of the clock struck 12, all the men of team 7 gulped the last bit of their green tea, thanked Sakura for the dinner and left in different directions to give Sasuke a private moment with the only female in their team. But that wasn't enough for the young Uchiha. He knows that if by any chance he messes-up, then Naruto will enjoy teasing him till his last breath. So he decided to take the matter into a more secure place.

"Sakura", he called her, "join me on the porch."

It wasn't a command like usual, she noticed. This time, his words sounded more like an earnest request and so, the pinkette shifted all of the used utensils in the dishwasher and scurried out of her ex-sensei's house to give Sasuke company at the porch. She saw him sitting silently on the wooden stairs and did the same. Since she is well-aware of the fact that Sasuke is not much of a conversationalist, she immediately craned her head-up to enjoy the sight of the night sky illuminated by the shimmering stars.

"Isn't this beautiful?" She asked dazedly.

"Hn..you can enjoy this view every single day..." He muttered.

His words didn't really make much sense to her and she glanced at him questioningly.

"I'll be leaving again..", He spoke, having turned to face her and after a moment of thought, added, "..soon..."

She simply lowered her gaze on hearing that. If she had something on her mind at the moment, then she didn't express it because of the fear of him negating. To be honest, he had half expected her to request him to let her accompany him this time. To his utter disappointment, she didn't...

"Come with me this time." He commanded gently.

"Wh-wha-whaat?!" She shrieked.

He smirked when he noticed the slight tinge of red in her cheeks. She surely hadn't expected him to ever ask such a thing of her.

"Sakura..I..." He tried to get straight to the point with this conversation.

She looked-up at him then and his mismatched pair of onyx and amethyst clashed with her emeralds. He gulped and inwardly bit on his cheek. It really isn't as easy as it seems, especially when she is staring directly at him like that. Yet he cannot back out now. He had made-up his mind during his journey and now that he is back, with a better perception about the few precious people in his life, he isn't going to chicken-out like some idiot.

"Sakura..I want you to be a part of my life." He stated much more confidently.

She giggled at him, "Sasuke-kun, what are you saying? I already am a part of your life."

"Yes..and a very important one.." He nodded more to himself, to which she stared confusedly at him.

He passed a hand through his unruly hair and spoke, "Please Sakura," he gazed straight into her eyes and continued, "be mine.."

The colouration in her skin drained out completely and her complexion turned as pale as that of Sai's. She wanted to joke about his words and giggle again but the intensity of his eyes expressed a conviction that she has never before seen in this man's gaze. It's as if he is doing it again— the language of the eyes. Most of the times that they have spent in each-other's company, they don't really talk much. Their eyes do the speaking...Atleast, this is what she thinks...

"I-uh..." She turned her face away from him, "What do you mean? Do you-Do you want me to be your Valentine?" She asked hesitantly, her eyes shut tight. Yes! Maybe this is what he meant by his words.

He quirked a brow at that. Valentine? What? Is something wrong with her? Why is it so hard for her to understand him and accept his feelings the only time he properly tries to express them? All he wants is for them to stop playing around with each-other's emotions and officially commit in a sincere relationship. And all she thinks of his confessions is this— a simple valentine's day date?! He sighed. Fine if this is how she wants him to say it...

"Sakura," he grabbed her hand, making her yelp at the sudden contact. Huffing in annoyance, he pulled out the bouquet of roses that he had bought from the Yamanaka Flower Shop and placed it in her palm. She gasped in amazement and blinked her eyes in confusion.

"Sakura, please..be my Valentine..for the rest of your life..." He requested, his head bowed down at her.

She gasped yet again. She had never expected the almighty Sasuke Uchiha to call her out on the porch just to privately make a love confession. Truth be told, she had never even expected him to begin a conversation. This is the first time and this also might be the last time that she hears something like this from him. It must be really hard for him to say things like these. But still..she couldn't help herself from doubting his motives. What if he is only looking for a baby-maker and she appears to be the most suitable candidate? She doesn't want to get into a loveless marriage.. But then again..this isn't a marriage proposal. It is more like a proposal to be his girlfriend..There's no harm in giving him a chance, right?

She nudged him so that he could stare back at her and it was then that she noticed the shreds of fear in his irises. Has he already mentally prepared himself for a rejection? Also, along with the fear are mixed tiny hints of hope. She can see the innocent, lonely boy behind that cold façade of his. She always has...Therefore, she pushed aside all her doubts and smiled that genuine smile that she keeps only for him and answered his request.

"Okay, Sasuke-kun..I will be your Valentine..for the rest of my life..."

* * *

 **A/N: Cheesy ending, eh? XD Hope you guys enjoyed reading.**

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 **Until Next Time...**

 **~Manika**


	6. A Taste of Redemption

**A/N: Here's my second entry of the SSFest2017 Hope you'll enjoy it...:) I wrote this one-shot after getting inspired by reading BluBooThalassophile's SasuSaku Fanfic 'Until the day I die' It's beautiful..so check it out as well...:)**

* * *

 **Dedicated to** **BluBooThalassophile for her amazing book.**

* * *

 **February 15**

 **Day 2: Insecurities**

 **Title: A Taste of Redemption**

 **Summary: Sasuke is finally back from his journey of redemption and he remembers about his promise of seeing Sakura on his return. But what if she has already moved on?...**

* * *

You are back...

...to the place that your brother sacrificed his life for...

And suddenly you realise that even after travelling around the world all this time on your journey to atone for your sins, you still don't understand what your brother saw in this place. You had left this place with only one purpose etched in your mind- Redemption. But now that you have returned after a duration of almost two years, you feel that you have yet to attain that. You feel that you aren't ready for this. And this place is the practical reminder of that. This place always makes you reproach your past actions, it makes you resent, which is why you have still not made any movements to enter through the huge gates. And as you stare uneasily at the prestigious entrance to the place that is supposed to be your home, you hear someone call out your name.

"Uchiha! It's you."

"You are back!"

How you wished for those voices to belong to a pair of a hyperactive, idiotic blonde and a cheerful, annoying pinkette but unfortunately, they didnot. Looking-up at the owners of the authoritative voices, you come face-to-face with the two Chūnins, who are constantly guarding the gates. Without even uttering so much as a greeting, you walk past them and make your way towards the building of the head of this place- The Hokage Tower.

.

.

Upon reaching the building, neither do you spare the time to hear the civilian's whispers about your sudden return, nor do you wait to acknowledge the few welcoming gestures flashed towards you. You simply continue your stride and finally stop on reaching the door that leads to the Hokage's Room.

After a polite knock, you wait for someone to answer the door. Surprisingly, it is slightly pulled open by a small being that you are sure you have never seen before in your life. For a second, the thought of the kid being the village leader's child enters your mind and yet you immediately shake it away as you are well-aware that your former sensei was never into families. But time changes everything and everyone and so, maybe your ex-teacher has changed as well. You keep going through all the possibilities but none of them helps you put a finger on the piercing crimson-irises that the child possesses. That she is a girl and is around four years old, is clear to you but still, you can't help yourself from wondering about the mysterious parents of this child.

"Who's there?" She speaks innocently in her baby voice.

As you have never been good with children, you have no idea about how you must treat them. This makes you think further about a specific answer to this child's query. An answer that will make her smile instead of scaring her. But before you can even come up with a proper response, you hear the clacking sound of heels. Maybe the previous and only female hokage, Tsunade Senju has come to pay a visit to the sixth. But as you hear the feminine voice of the heel-sporting lady, you doubt your views. Maybe it's not Tsunade. Maybe it's that black-haired medical kunoichi who always used to be around Tsunade to deal with her odd jobs.

"Who's there Mirai-chan?" The voice asks and the kid, probably named _Mirai_ turns her head back inside.

The door is then completely pulled open by a tall woman with curly, black hair and piercing crimson irises, similar to that of the child. You swear to yourself that you have seen this woman before but you don't recall her name. To your surprise, she remembers _your_ name. Well..everyone does. Afterall, who will forget the face and name of the shinobi world's most dangerous S-ranked criminal.

"Sasuke" she says in greeting and allows you to enter. Maybe she is the mother of this little girl.

You close the door behind you and turn around to face the numerous familiar occupants of the room. Shikamaru Nara is the first person whom you recognise. He is standing next to that black-haired medical ninja that used to work under Tsunade. You also spot your ex-teacher's rival aka Bushy-brows sensei, seated in a wheel chair. Then there's the crimson-eyed woman from before, her child Mirai, the bald-guy from the Torture Department, the blonde, four-pig-tailed kunoichi from sand with her huge fan secured over her back, two dark-skinned shinobi, one of whom is busy licking his lollipop while the other one is passing a hand through her haphazard red hair and ofcourse, right in the centre of the group, seated behind the long desk, on the Hokage's chair, is your former sensei- Kakashi Hatake, the Sixth Hokage of the Leaf Village.

You wonder if there was a meeting going on and that you have entered at the wrong time. But the Hokage clears all your worries. Even though you can't see it, you know that Kakashi is smiling at you from behind his mask because of his crinkled eyes. Yes! He doesn't cover his left eye anymore since he had lost his Sharingan during the Fourth Shinobi War. But you notice that he isn't the only one smiling at you, most of them are. Both Shikamaru and the blonde kunoichi from sand are smirking at you whilst the black-haired assistant of Tsunade and the crimson-eyed woman are giving you a small welcoming smile. The only people who aren't smiling are the two dark-toned shinobi and the man from torture department. They are scowling at you. The little four-year old is staring at you with a young one's curiosity shimmering in her eyes and much to your dismay, bushy-brows sensei is giving you his weird, teeth-flashing grin.

"Sasuke, welcome back." Kakashi says and you nod your head.

"Don't worry, man. The Hokage was just having an idle chat with us." The lazy-genius assured you.

There was a scoff and everyone turned to look at the bald-guy from the Torture Department. Suddenly, he turned his gaze towards you, "How lucky of us to have the company of the almighty Sasuke Uchiha."

The two dark shinobis snickered at that.

"Relax Ibiki-san, Sasuke is a good man. He is back now." The crimson-eyed woman countered.

"Oh really? I don't trust him and Kurenai, you shouldn't too." Ibiki hisses and pushes past you to exit the room.

Kurenai, the woman with crimson irises, smiles apologetically at you. You notice hints of pity in them and try your best not to seethe with anger. Pitying is something that you have never liked. You are ready to take Rage, Sorrow, Joy, even Hatred but not Pity. You don't want people's pity or sympathy. You also want to move on from your past self as Hate and Revenge are the only two words that clouded your mind for the most of your teenage years. Now at nineteen, you want to give-up on those two words that twisted your perception way too much to straighten back to normal. You want to be at peace. You want calm. You want Redemption.

"I guess you'll be staying for a while?" Kakashi asked and you managed a nod.

"Then why don't you cheer-up and go meet all of your comrades!" yelled Bushy-brows sensei in his youthful tone and you felt your eye twitch at the blinding shine of his teeth.

"Not a bad idea. Naruto has been whining a lot about your absence." Shikamaru piped-in, "His ramen urges are so strong these days that even Hinata is getting addicted to the taste of his favourite food. I swear to you, both of them eat nothing but Ramen."

"Damn! All this talk about food reminds me that I have a date with Chouji-kun tonight." The red-headed woman muttered, the palms of her hands massaging her scalp in anxiety.

"Whoa Karui, who knew someone like you could get a date." spoke the girl's partner, throwing away the empty lollipop-stick and pulling out another one from his pocket to continue with his weird fetish. And you couldn't help yourself from agreeing to the guy's words. Not that the girl is unattractive or anything. It's just weird to hear that even that overweighing guy from team 10 has got himself a date but not you.

The girl whacked the boy on his head for insulting her and stomped out of the room in fury, gritting out a goodbye to the Hokage and murmuring an 'I'll see you later' to the girl from sand. The lollipop-lover followed his friend whilst rubbing his head to soothe the pain caused by the newly developing bruise.

You step-away from the door to let the two walk-out of the room, wondering when exactly did the world become so friendly for you hadn't expected Chouji of all guys from your generation to grab a date before many others. And also you glanced at the sand kunoichi, thinking that if she is friends with that red-headed girl then how many of your comrades have formed such inter-village bonds.

"Well, you better go see Naruto." Kakashi advised tiredly.

And again..you are left to your thoughts. People's extremely amiable behaviour is scaring you. Why exactly is everyone behaving as if nothing has gone wrong, as if you had never left to atone for your sins, as if...the crimes that you had committed have all been forgiven? You stare at the people still present inside the room, unsure about everything. _Is this a dream?_ You question yourself. No. It can't be, for you recall that the last time you had a dream was when you were still eight and your brother hadn't murdered your clan. After that fateful night, you only had nightmares..nightmares about your parents lying in a pool of their own blood, nightmares about the whole Uchiha Compound colored in crimson, nightmares about each and every single one of their deaths...

"Sasuke"

You were pulled out of your train of thoughts when you heard a strong feminine voice calling you. Looking-up, you saw everyone staring worriedly at you. Maybe you were lost in your thoughts for too long that you missed out their voices calling you out. You eyed the girl who had taken your name, the girl from sand.

"Sasuke," she spoke again, "meet Mirai. This is Asuma and Kurenai's daughter."

You looked towards the little girl that she was gesturing at and saw the child was already staring at you. She looked uncertain at first but when Shikamaru nudged her, she took the signal and managed a shy smile at you. Her twinkling eyes were an indication that she wanted to be friends with you, that she wasn't scared of you, that she didn't see you as the monster that you used to be... She brought her tiny hand out to shake it in friendship. And much to everyone's shock, you didn't scoff or snarl or scowl, you simply motioned the only arm you had left and shook the child's hand as gently as you could with your calloused hands. The effect was instantaneous as the child brightened with a big grin on her face. It made you believe that maybe..maybe it's not too hard to attain redemption.

A moment later, you faced Kakashi and finally decided to open your mouth to utter a few words.

"I'll see Naruto now." You told him.

"Don't forget, Sakura. She's at the hospital. She'll be happy to see you back." the black-haired woman spoke in a low whisper which was loud enough for all the occupants of the room to hear.

Suddenly you began feeling heavy. You were unable to move. It's as if someone chained your legs, rendering you immobile. You even felt the immediate change in the atmosphere of the room. The warm welcoming aura was gone. It was replaced by a deafening silence that began hammering your head. It's funny how the mention of a certain pink-haired girl's name can create such a change. The kunoichi with her fan averted her eyes, trying to focus on the wooden flooring of the room whilst Shikamaru coughed. Both the older women were staring uneasily at you and your ears also caught the sound of Kakashi clearing his throat. The silence was starting to get on your nerves. You were itching for some kind of action and yet no one made any move to violate the quiet.

"Sakura-chan!" The little toddler suddenly cried in joy. For some reason, she was really delighted to hear the pinkette's name and you were delighted too. You mentally thanked the girl for breaking the unfriendly silence in the room.

"Ah, Yes! Sakura-chan." The girl's mother smiled down at her, "We'll meet her soon."

"Huh..." Kakashi sighed, giving you a weak smile, "We'll talk later. I think you must go and see them"

With that said, no, ordered to you by your ex-sensei, you made a quick escape out of the room.

.

Once outside of the building, you felt your muscles starting to relax. You fear that if you would've stayed any longer, you would've died of the constantly gripping silence. Shikamaru and his girlfriend from sand had also followed you out and were now walking down the busy streets next to you.

"Sakura runs the whole hospital now." Shikamaru blurted out, "She has also started a whole new department, separated from the hospital. It is a sort of clinic for the young kids who are suffering from mental traumas. She came up with the idea a few months ago and immediately began working on it with Ino's help. Temari and I helped out as well."

The girl from sand, whose name you recalled to be Temari, spoke-up, "You inspired her to create the Children's Healthcare Clinic."

At that, you quirked a brow at the blonde female to which she immediately responded, "You know, with all that trauma and stuff. She used to read books related to the condition similar to yours alongside taking care of you at the hospital during that time after the war."

You simply nodded in understanding and went back to brooding over your past. It's true that she had always stayed by your bedside during that time of your rehabilitation. She used to feed you with refreshments and apples and even your proper daily meals. She used to run regular health check-ups on you. She even went as far as sleeping on that chair by your bed's side, just to make sure you didn't suffer with those nightmares. And all throughout the night she would allow you to touch her, to hold her palm and squeeze as hard as would make you feel safe. Whenever you had screamed in the midst of those restless sleeps, she was the one to calm you down. Whenever you had cried in the aftermath of those gory nightmares, she was the one to lull you back to sleep. Whenever you had a hallucination, she was the one to take the brunt of it all.

You used to yell at her, scold her and even go as far as threatening her. Just so she would keep her innocent self a long mile away from you. But no..none of your acts ever worked. She always stayed up at nights with you when you felt no sleep blessed-upon your eyes. She always made sure that you were lost in a proper slumber before herself dozing-off in her dreams. You had even attempted to kill her numerous times under the effects of your hallucinations and yet she never questioned or hated you for your deeds. She accepted you as you are, unlike many others who loathed your return to this village. She did all of it..all of it to make sure you _felt_...she made you feel important..she made you feel needed... And what did you do?! You left her! You left the village right after your probation ended. And for everything she had done for you, you only graced her with a word of thanks and a promise of return.

And to think that she would take inspiration from you and start running an organization of her own... _She really_ has changed but who else is to blame than you. Every little step that she took, every single day that she worked, everything of hers has always been done for your acceptance...Just so you would turn around and acknowledge her for everything that she is..Conclusively, _you_ are the one responsible for her change, growth and development. And a small part of you always wishes that she will return to her old, carefree self...

"Naruto must be at the Ichiraku's right now." Shikamaru said, disturbing your thoughts.

But for some reason, you couldn't shake away the ever-so-bright face of your female teammate off your mind.

 _I'll see you when I'm back..._

Those were words that you uttered to her before your second departure from the village. You have always been a man of few words but you know that she is the only one who understands your cryptic way of communicating. She has always been able to crawl under your skin. So then...what are you doing? Why are you making her suffer? What are you waiting for? If you had promised to see her on your return then why exactly are you still walking down this lane with two of your former comrades in search of a blonde idiot who is much like a brother to you? You always disappoint her. You enjoy doing this to her. Making her wait for you forever. You are a sadist, aren't you? Her loyalty gives you a sickening pleasure. You relish every minute of her devotion for you. And yet, there's a small part of you which knows that this isn't right? This very part is urging you to keep your promise, to stand-up to her expectations, to show everyone around you that even a monster like you possesses a heart...

 _...and..thank you..._

You even thanked her before parting with her. You had done the same when you were thirteen. She had tried stopping you both the times. She had even offered joining you on your quest and offer you her trusted support. But you declined..on both the occasions. Both of the times you left her with your genuine gratitude. The only difference between the two happenings is that during one of them she was conscious enough to see you leave. But a _thank you_ is not enough. She knows this. You know this. Heck! Everyone knows this.

"...he's probably there with Hinata. They are always out on dates. You know-"

Shikamaru stopped speaking when he saw you making an about turn and heading in the opposite direction to that of your comrades. You didn't look back or stop to give any reactions to the surprised looks on their faces. You continued moving swiftly in the direction that you know will lead you to the Hospital..towards the object of your thoughts. You had promised her and you will fulfil it because Uchihas never go against their words. Whatever they say is a declaration that must be taken care of. Thus, you kept striding towards the medical unit because she of all people deserves to see you first.

"Hey! Sasuke!" Shikamaru called but you paid no heed.

"Oh! Let him go. Atleast for the first time he's taking the right steps." Temari said casually with an undertone of amusement in her voice.

You inwardly thanked her for giving you the final push and began walking with a new determination in your persona.

.

.

On reaching the huge building of the Konohagakure Hospital, you marched in towards the reception. Your sudden entrance earned you a lot of gasps and whispers from the civilians and shinobis alike. Sighing, you opened your mouth to speak your query but were unable to because of the loud interruption.

"Sasuke-kun?" came a familiar feminine voice and you turned around to face the young, blonde Yamanaka Heiress.

She was eyeing you with an amused smile on her lips. Then she spoke, "Perhaps you're looking for Sakura-chan?"

You couldn't help yourself from nodding your head in agreement.

"Well, too bad. She isn't here. She's on a brake for a few days." She supplied and you found your legs immediately turning you around, heading in the general direction of the street that your ex-teammate lives on.

You were quick to exit the hospital but somehow, the long, golden-pony-tailed girl managed to catch up to you. She began walking side-by-side with you. She cleared her throat to gain your attention and you did a slight nod of your head to show that you were listening.

"Okay, I won't beat around the bush. I'll get straight to the point. She cried a lot when you left her. And by leaving I mean both the times. Yes! She cried too much for her own good and no one was there to support her but me and Tsunade-shishou. Naruto had left too. At first, to train with Jiraiya-sama and the other time, he was busy with Hinata. Kakashi-sensei just resigned in his sorrows in the beginning and the second time you left, he was the Hokage. He had duties to carry out. And Sai-kun was..well Sai. So you see, she was left all by herself and-"

You tried to interrupt her because you already know all this but she stopped you with a gesture of her hand and went on, "Let me finish. So, as I was saying, she was left all by herself. And when she realised that moping won't do any good to her, she decided to train and work hard. She wasn't blessed by any special bloodline abilities or a tailed-beast's chakra. Everything that she is, goes to her nerve-wrecking hard work. And you know what Sasuke?! Even after everything you did to her, even after everything you made her go through, she forgave you. She always does..."

"And your point is?" You asked bluntly.

"I am saying that you do not deserve her!" she yelled, making you flinch the slightest.

She now stopped walking and even signalled you to do the same. Then she hissed in a mix of fury and sorrow for her beloved best friend, "Look Sasuke, you weren't here when she used to cry and blame herself. We all witnessed her anguish and though we may have forgiven you, we still don't trust you enough. Atleast _I_ don't trust you enough with her."

By now tears were streaming down her face but she kept shouting, "You Sasuke Uchiha, do not deserve her forgiveness, her smiles, her acceptance and her love! You don't deserve any of it! You do not deserve her!"

Those last few words struck a cord in you and your palms began clenching and unclenching repeatedly, accompanied by the gritting of your teeth.

She was heaving with rage and sadness but her gaze did not falter. She kept glaring at you with contempt. And again, who is to blame? You ofcourse! Her words are nothing but unadulterated truth. _You do not deserve her!_ You really don't. You tried glaring back at the sky-blue eyed female with equal intensity but could not. Slowly your shoulders began sagging and you lowered your head in defeat.

 _Haven't I apologised already?_

 _Hasn't she forgiven me already?_

You kept asking yourself. Those two questions that always plague you whenever you are lost in your thoughts.

"Don't disappoint me Uchiha." Ino Yamanaka spoke suddenly.

You lifted your head to gaze indifferently at her.

"You have damaged her beyond repair. One more mistake and she'll snap and shatter for ever. So, consider this a threat or a personal request or whatever you want to..but do not wrong her again." She dead-panned and walked away, leaving you alone on the middle of the streets.

.

.

The walk towards her place didn't take long as you reached their within 10 minutes. Standing outside the small apartment's porch, you contemplated on whether you should knock at the door or not. Her best friend's words were still ringing in your ears. They had somehow managed to shake your strong resolve, making you uncertain about this much awaited reunion with the girl who has always filled your dark existence with her bright presence.

 _She'll be happy to see you back._

Will she now? You briefly felt the signs of fear ghosting it's way into your soul. Will she really be happy to see you? Will she openly greet you with a smile on her face? Will she cheerfully welcome you indoors for some refreshments and small talk? Will she? Or has she finally given-up on you? Finally...moved on? It is hard for you to admit it even to yourself but the prospect of her moving on from you is scaring you. And, however selfish it may sound, you don't want her to stop loving you...

 _You inspired her..._

Really? Can a conceited, heinous, control-freak like you impress someone to the point that they start taking inspiration from you? Why did she take your example? Why did she choose to support you during those nights of intense nightmares deteriorating your sleep? Time and again she has openly confessed her feelings for you. But why? Why does she love you even after everything that you have made her suffer? All those actions would've been more than enough to traumatise any normal person. But not her... Instead of breaking down and losing herself in the agony of it all, she has taken inspiration from your sick behaviour and utilised it to create a tranquil place for thousands like you. This selfish part of you can't help itself from feeling satisfied because you don't want anyone else to take your place in her heart...

 _You do not deserve her!_

You have heard this one numerous times. There have been many others who have expressed their disapproval whenever it comes to you and her. People always scowl or grimace in disgust. But Ino Yamanaka verbally spoke-out their dislike. You'll praise the blonde girl for this, as no one has ever tried to yell at you except for a very unpredictable, knucklehead ninja. None of the acquaintances of this pink-haired kunoichi wants you anywhere near her. It's not like you feel offended. You too think that you don't deserve any part of her. But still, you want to be selfish and have her accept all of you despite your flaws...

Sighing deeply, you finally lift your hand up to give a knock at her door. You had promised her that you'll return. You had promised that she'll be the first one you'll see on your return. Therefore, there's no point in backing out now, as it will not only be very disappointing to her but also very disgraceful to you as an Uchiha. So, with hints of hesitation in your movements, you gave three quick knocks and waited.

You heard the faint padding of her feet from the inside as she made her way towards the door to answer the visitor. Squaring your shoulders and straightening your chin, you braced yourself for whatever fate has in store for you. If she says she doesn't want to see you anymore, you'll nod your head and leave. If she isn't ready to face you, you'll comply and leave. And if she says..that she has moved on...then too, you will politely accept her decision. Atleast you'll remember that you tried...

The door finally clicked open and for a moment, the time stopped as she took in your features and grasped onto the fact that you were standing right there in front of her. To say that she was shocked would be an understatement. She was at a loss of words and so, she simply gasped, bringing one of her porcelain, dainty palm to her mouth to cover her shock. Then slowly, lowering her palm down and staring at you straight in the eyes, she motioned her lips, making them tilt at the ends to create a perfect, genuine smile. You instantly recognised that smile. It was that real, affectionate smile. A smile that she only keeps for you. And in that moment, all those snide remarks that people made about you were forgotten. All those thoughts of you not deserving her were gone. All of your insecurities faded away into nothingness when you looked into that beryl shade of green in her irises. And you realised that no matter what, she will never give up on you. She will keep hoping against hope if that is what it will take for you to reciprocate her feelings, to actually forget about all your fears and give yourself a chance.

She stepped down onto the porch and her smile grew wider as she spoke, " _Okaeri_ , Sasuke-kun."

You saw the evidence of that old, innocent girl that you have always pictured her as, that you have always wanted her to be. A long-lost emotion hit you hard in your chest and you felt that redeeming yourself is not much far from your reach. She has always been around, making you experience bits of it. And now that you have finally had a taste of this redemption, you want more of it. Thus, you returned her cheerful grin with a small smile of your own. She gasped yet again and merry tears began gliding down her cheeks. Determinedly, you inched closer to her whilst pulling her head nearer to your lips and kissed her on her diamond-sealed forehead. It was a chaste, feather-light kiss that you placed on her impeccable skin. A tear glided down her cheek at that very moment and so with a newly found conviction, you whispered, " _Tadaima_ , Sakura..."

* * *

 **A/N: So...I hope you guys enjoyed reading it. Don't forget to check out 'Until the day I die' by BluBooThalassophile.**

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 **If you enjoyed this oneshot.**

 **Until Next Time...**

 **~Manika**


	7. Washing the Regrets

**A/N: Here's another one of my entries...:)**

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 **February 17**

 **Day 4: Sasuke's Regrets**

 **Title: Washing the Regrets**

 **Summary: Sasuke regrets a lot about everything that he missed whilst spending his years out of the village and now wants to wash away all those regrets...**

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You saw it again— the endearment that takes over Boruto's cerulean irises every time he looks at your daughter. And this look is what made you feel another pang of regret hit that area on your chest where the blood pumping organ of your body is located. It's not that you haven't repented for your sins..It's just that every time you witness that look, it reminds you of what could've been..What must've been...

It makes you wonder about a different lifestyle altogether if you wouldn't have left this village all those years ago..if you wouldn't have left this woman you call your wife on a cold bench in the middle of the night...But you did. All because it seemed like the most appropriate choice for the sake of a better future. But at that time you were far too young to properly understand the real meaning of taking such a big decision. You didn't realise how much you'll have to sacrifice for the sake of this step. And you didn't notice these sacrifices even after you returned. It is only now that you have actually stayed in the village for a long time in the company of your family and friends that has made you realise how much you have missed.

"Let's go Sarada! It's not everyday that we get to do a B-Rank mission." Boruto yelled at your daughter, watching her as she adjusted the hem of her red dress.

"Jeez! You're so annoying! Just wait a sec." She shouted back.

Moments like these are what make you feel jealous of your student as Boruto will always be around your daughter to witness her growth..to watch her in her finest of moments..to hold her in times of grief. He is so lucky to be able to see all of this happen before his eyes. You never got to enjoy these little joys of life as your vision was too clouded with thoughts of revenge and your focus on having enough hate. As a youngster, you didn't spend much of your teenage in this village and thus, missed every single thing regarding her development and experiences. You missed the first time she must've learnt how to properly heal someone(and not just by her jutsus). You missed the chance to see her become a 'Chunin' (and later on a 'Jounin'). You even missed the time when she must have got that diamond seal on her forehead. How happy she must've been? Sadly, you'll never find out.

But her joyous life events aren't the only ones that you have missed. How would she have reacted on her first failure at saving a patient? You can imagine her crying and isolating herself from the rest of the world but still..it's just a wild guess. Who knows? Maybe she would've talked to her blonde mentor or her best friend or someone else like that?

A while ago Sai told you about the numerous love confessions she used to receive when you weren't around to lurk like a shadow by her side. What would've been her first reaction? Maybe she would've politely declined because in your heart, you've always thought of her as your own— a personal belonging even. Or maybe, she would've punched the guy's gut out just like usually does with that idiot Naruto everytime he tries to hit on her. But then again..all you can do is guess. There's no surety about anything...

But above all this regret of having not being able to witness her throughout all those years, is another far more greater sense of regret. A regret which makes you feel guilty every instant you notice these young kids enjoy their moments of life witnessing each-other's growth and development. A guilt for not being around to cheer her in her moments of triumphs and to console her in her moments of sorrow...Unfortunately, what's done is done..and you don't possess the power to change any of it. And so as the two kids finally left the house for their very first B-rank mission, uttering quick goodbyes, you turned to face her, your beautiful wife. And you have no idea if it was pure instinct or just a way to express your apology to her for not being around but you kissed her. You kissed her hard on her lips until she shoved you away.

"Anata, what's wrong?" she asked worriedly, wiping her lips by the back of her palm.

The action irked you for you were only trying to make up to her and she tried to wipe-off the evidence. So you pulled her in for another one— a kiss that knocked her senseless, making her breath haggardly whilst staring confusedly at you for your sudden romantic behaviour. But you didn't buy any of it..because today you want to pay her back for loving you throughout all these years..for loving you even when you were being an ass to her..for loving you despite of the distance separating the two of you during your journeys...

"Sasuke-kun?!" she yelped when you lifted her by your single arm, calling you out with that old honorific that you enjoy hearing from her lips.

You smirked down at her shocked yet flushed features and kissed her all the way towards the bedroom because today you want to wash away all your regrets...

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 **A/N: I know..a very short one...XD but I hope you guys enjoyed...:3**

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 **Until Next Time...**

 **~Manika**


	8. Fated Encounter

**February 19**

 **Day 6: Civilian+Shinobi Love**

 **Title: Fated Encounter**

 **Summary: Fate has brought together an exceptionally skilful shinobi and an ordinary girl with extraordinary features. What will be the outcome of this encounter?**

* * *

The mission that has been appointed to his team is quite an easy one. Truth be told, an extremely easy task to be put under the category of an S-Rank mission. Rescuing the Konoha civilians who have been captured by Orochimaru's henchmen is not supposed to be an S-Rank thing. Perhaps it is the name 'Orochimaru' that has increased the rank of this mission to that of an S? But seriously, how strong can the guy really be? He may be one of the three legendary sannins but he sure as hell cannot be stronger than an Uchiha. 19-year old, young Anbu Captain Sasuke Uchiha thought this all to himself whilst running and bounding-off trees to reach the assumed location of the nearest lair where the captured civilians may have been taken.

At maximum it will take a group of trained shinobis about three hours to reach the spot. But since his squad consists of only the elites, they will arrive at their destination within an hour and a half. They will infiltrate the base as soon as they arrive and rescue all their village's people. And if by chance, any misfortune befalls them, then they may even run into Orochimaru. Yet even that won't be much of a problem as he'll handle that snake-lookalike paedophile in no time.

And this is exactly how it happened. Every single thing occurred in the same sequential order that he had guessed on his way. Everything..except for one part that is...

The minute they entered the lair, they were not met by the sight of a small bunch of shinobi guarding the place. Instead, a huge wave of sound ninjas surrounded them from all sides. The whole thing turned into a long boring procedure of fighting off the sound shinobi and helping the Konoha civilians escape at the same time. In the midst of all the gruelling actions, someone bumped into him— a woman to be specific (he guessed by the body shape). However, the whole exchange seemed very weird as the woman had covered every single part of her body by a huge, white cloak, obscuring all of her features from the eyes of this harsh world. She apologised and ran out of the underground base, leaving him behind to take care of the sound small fries. Well, it's not like he cares...

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 **A/N: I'm sorry..As much as I want to share this one, I can't. Since I've decided to turn this oneshot into a complete multi-chaptered tale. Look for 'Fated Encounter' in the list of my other works and read it there...I know you guys will enjoy it...:)**

 **[And Yes! I _am_ trying to promote that fic.]**

 **Sincerely**

 **~Manika**


	9. One Day at a Time

**February 20**

 **Day 7: The Past**

 **Title: One Day at a Time**

 **Summary: The past is making Sasuke suffer too much and Sakura wants him to forget and move on...[this summary sucks, I know xD The story is good, I assure you.]**

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Despite having a proper sleep the previous night, you woke-up with a slowly developing ache in your head. You turned to the other side and found out that the only other occupant of this bed was no more sleeping next to you. Frantically, you whipped your head in all the directions in hopes of catching the distinctive pink of her hair or even the mesmerising emeralds of her irises. But no, she was no longer inside the room. Faint sounds of cooing caught your ears and you realised that she must be feeding your little daughter of two down the stairs by now, which simply indicates that it is quite late in the morning for you to be lying around. A sense relief entered your form and you visibly relaxed at the thought of her still present at home as you don't know what would life become without her bright presence in it. Also, never have you been so lazy in your life that you slept till late in the morning. Afterall, it is a daily routine of yours to wake-up during the wee hours of dawn, just to watch over the innocently sleeping woman next to you— the woman who has accepted you even after all the hell that you made her go through...

You placed a hand atop the searing Rinnegan and tried to take in deep breaths in order to calm the throbbing in your head that was now starting to become irritating. But when the ache didnot fade even the slightest, you gave up on trying and threw-away the satin sheets. There is no use in convincing your being when you know what exactly is the reason behind this headache. Sighing in a haggard manner, you tightened the knot of your sweatpants and pulled a black shirt over your naked chest, despite it being difficult to do so with a single arm.

Down the stairs, in the kitchen, you noticed your wife's head of pink and saw her murmuring sweet words to the toddler in her arms. To your surprise, the little bundle was babbling her own incoherent responses to her mother and sucking on her pink tresses with joy. The woman giggled at the baby's action and pried her hair strands out of the child's mouth. It was then that she slightly craned her head to the side and took note of you standing in the doorway, staring intently at her. With the quirk of one of her thin, pink eyebrow, she expressed her unspoken query and you rudely turned away and left...

You left her confused at your behaviour and exited the newly-constructed, custom Uchiha Household, walking down the streets towards the training grounds. On days like these, you don't want her to envision the miserable state that you are in. She'll start worrying like she always does and that would be..annoying.

The thought of dragging along the sorry ass of that deadlast of a Hokage crossed your mind but you immediately pushed it aside because there is no way that the busy hokage will have time to join you for something as simple as a spar. Kicking the dirt on the path in frustration, you continued your stride towards the old, meeting spot of team 7.

.

.

As you landed punches and kicks to the trees in the surrounding and performed katas, you couldn't help but reminisce about the past. The memories of the carefree days spent in the company of team 7 crashed the shore of your thoughts like a huge wave. And along with those cheerful memories, floated the bad ones as well. You recalled how you had introduced yourself and vowed to kill a certain man for the sake of bringing justice to all the dead souls of the Uchiha clan. Heh! What a pathetic vow you made! If only...if only you would've known about the torment that your brother went through while slaughtering his own kin then maybe..maybe you wouldn't have been the sole-survivor of your prestigious clan today..maybe your brother would've been here, standing right next to you, patting your shoulders in assurance and smiling like the nice guy that he was.

But no..it didn't happen that way! And sadly, this day...the 9th of June is an agonising reminder. Yes! Today is the birthday of your deceased elder brother, Itachi Uchiha— a man who had his whole life to live, a man who decided to sacrifice it for the sake of the consequences that he forced upon himself, a man..for whom your love and respect will never be lowered. You killed him! You killed him and then you learnt about the truth from Obito and..and...instead of acting like a mature young man, you jumped onto conclusions which were all just a product of your emotionally-shaken state of mind and blindly lusted for revenge from countless innocent civilians of the leaf village. How could you blame so many lives for a crime they didn't even know about?

And above all..you hurt some of the only remaining precious people in your life. You tried to kill the girl who has come to love you genuinely for who you are..You tried to take away her life..take away the only speck of light in your dark life and drown into the shadows...You expressed your desire to kill your own teacher, the one who accepted you not just as a promising student but also as a son...You nearly killed your best friend twice, the last time resulting in the both of you losing an arm. An arm— it took the sacrifice of a complete arm for you to come back. Four years of pursuing and convincing you in the right manner didn't work but losing an arm did. You laughed bitterly because sometimes you are such a child. If only someone had slapped you in the face and grounded you for your bratty behaviour at the right time then maybe..maybe you wouldn't have turned out this way...

.

.

That evening when you returned home and silently ambled towards your room so as to evade your young wife, you actually ended-up bumping into her on the way. Her small frame didn't help much and her head collided with your taut chest. You gulped..because there goes your chance of escaping her piercing emeralds that are always able to see through your façade, no matter how many layers of walls you erect around that guilty heart of yours. She rubbed her head in a manner you can't describe anything less than cute and smiled apologetically. There were no hints of sadness or anger for your mean behaviour towards her this morning and this didn't help you feel any better. If anything, it troubled you even more.

"You're not angry?" You asked, slightly agitated at her because she deserves to be angry. She must be angry!

"No" she simply shook her head and smiled again.

With widened eyes, you sighed and quirked your brows. Why isn't she mad at you? You blatantly ignored her this morning and left the house without so much as informing her about your destination and she is not the slightest bit of fazed?! Something is definitely wrong- either with you or with her.

But before you could delve deeper into your dark thoughts and create some twisted kind of reason behind her behaviour, she spoke again, gently, "How can I be angry at you when you looked so..lost..."

"Lost?" You mocked with a scoff.

"Yes Sasuke-kun, you were lost and you still are..." She admitted firmly.

At that you found yourself beyond confused at her choice of words. "I'm not...I'm just..a bit grief-struck."

"Sasuke-kun, I..I don't know what has been hurting you since this morning but you need to forget and move on..." She mumbled, never meeting your gaze and actually left you alone in the corridor.

There is nothing else left for you to do than sigh. But no..you won't commit the same deed again. You've always hidden your past from her..never sharing anything about it. And you know that if you don't open-up to her now then it will be too late..It will always be like this...You'll keep hurting her at certain points in time if you keep your past concealed any longer...Thus, you took a step forward into the future that you have to spend with her and followed her trail towards the living room. You spotted little Sarada playing with her soft toys on the floor, next to whom sat your wife, face turned away from your direction.

"I'm sorry..." You muttered, expecting her to immediately yell at you. And yet she didn't...

She simply craned her neck to stare at you and smiled gently. "It's fine..It's okay to think about your past once in a while."

"Its not okay!" You know you must not but you shouted at her, making your little daughter shake in fright, "It is because of that past that I..that I hurt you so damn much! I..I pulled you..to the point where you would've snapped and broken..I hurt you so much because of that past. If..if only I could go back in time and trade some of my mistakes..."

"No Sasuke-kun", she shook her head, "It is because of that past that you are here.. It is that tragic past that taught you so much. And now you are here..."

"I don't know anymore.." You mumbled in frustration.

Passing a hand through those messy raven locks of yours, you sighed, "Sakura..I...its..today is Itachi's birthday and dates like these always remind me of the sins that I have committed. And I..I don't know if I can actually atone for them and truly make you happy..."

For some weird reason, she giggled at that. Shaking her head to negate your words, she picked-up the frightened little baby girl from the floor and walked to stand right before you. With an excited smile she spoke, "Look at this Sasuke-kun. This is our daughter. We made her..This little, innocent bundle of cuteness and mischief has been brought into this world by us! See? You did something good. You are already atoning for your sins...one day at a time.."

A minute later, she handed over the little toddler into your arms and patted her small head. "..you did kill Itachi but he doesn't hate you for that. He wanted it. He wanted to die by the hands of his younger brother because he knew..he knew that only you could help him achieve salvation after committing that he was forced to. And that's why..he is watching from up their...Always.."

"Always..." You repeated, nodding your head like a confused little kid.

"And Sasuke-kun...Itachi-san didn't sacrifice his life for this. He doesn't want you to sit around and mope for the loss of all your family members. Instead..he wants you to protect this new family that you have created..."

"Yes" you said, pulling her in with the same arm that you were using to hold Sarada and hugged the two girls who have now become a part of your family. Yes! Sakura is right. It is so unlike your elder brother to make you suffer. If anything, he'd want you to lighten-up and move forward. You nodded your head again, muttering more to yourself, "I am atoning for my sins...one day at a time..."

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 **A/N: I was listening to"Trade Mistakes" by Panic! At the Disco while writing this one. The song is beautiful and well-suited to SasuSaku. Do listen to it.**

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 **~Manika?**


	10. Small Gestures

**Posted on: 24/04/17**

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 **A/N: It's been so long since I updated this book. Life really has caught me in its talons. Still I decided to post one of my old one-shots here.**

 **Beware! It's really short!**

* * *

 **Title: Small Gestures**

 **Summary: For Sasuke and Sakura, small gestures express a lot...**

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It was a normal day in Konoha. Normal, since the war had finally come to an end a month ago. The village was back to its restored self but not it's civilians as most of them were waiting for the arrival of their leave from the hospital. Everyone wanted to enjoy the bright atmosphere of their village for as long as they could.

Amidst all this hustle and bustle, a young kunoichi of 17 made her way across the swarms of doctors and nurses in the huge building. She was the disciple of the Fifth Hokage and was always assigned to the most important operations. But this particular patient wasn't put under her care on the orders of her mentor. The patient himself had demanded her supervision and handling for his treatment. It surprised her that even after everything that has transpired between the two, he still chose her to be there. Well, the guy is just as unpredictable as his best friend so the young medic has no other choice but to wait until he himself decides to reveal his motives.

Her striding legs finally came to rest when she reached the door to a particular ward in the secluded portion of that building. Even after all these years she loses her professionalism in front of this guy. Maybe it's because of the strong feelings that she holds only for him?

With hesitation still brewing in her form, she paused at the door. _Calm down. You can do this._ She consoled herself. Taking deep, long breaths, she willed herself to push open the door and walked in.

Immediately her emerald irises landed on the onyx ones and they stared at each other like they always do— an act of intimacy that no one but they share.. _He must have sensed my presence beforehand._ She concluded to herself.

Taking a small gulp of the moist monsoon air, she asked him, "Would you like some apples, Sasuke-kun?"

He didn't speak but slowly inched his only remaining right-hand towards her now seated form over the stool. With the ease of an ace, his palm found hers and their fingers entangled together.

Confused and slightly flushed by his act, the girl spoke her query, "Sa-Sasuke-kun?"

The boy only turned his head away from her, breaking their intimate eye-contact. He cocked his head to the side and smirked all throughout his response, "Hn...annoying."

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 **A/N: I know its really short but sorry. I'll write more when I find time. I still need to update my book 'A Chance at Redemption' and I've barely started typing the 13th chapter for that one. Ugh! Life really is sucking up on me...:(**

 **I'll keep trying though..**

 **Hope you guys liked this short fic..:3**

 **Until Next Time...**

 **~Manika**


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